Amgen and European Schoolnet Launch New Professional Development Initiative for Life Science Teachers

Zug, Switzerland And Brussels, Belgium (ots/PRNewswire) -

Program Will Help Increase Student Interest and Achievements in Science in
France, Germany, Ireland and Poland

Today, the Amgen Foundation and European Schoolnet launched the
"Amgen Science Teacher Training Initiative" in France, Germany,
Ireland and Poland.

The Amgen Science Teacher Training Initiative provides
professional development for secondary school science teachers to
help them incorporate hands-on enquiry-based science education in
their classrooms. The initiative will focus on those teaching
science, principally biology and chemistry, to students aged 12 to
18. More information can be found online:
http://www.scienceteachertraining.com.

Funded by the Amgen Foundation and coordinated by European
Schoolnet, this initiative is being launched as a pilot program in
Paris, Munich, Dublin and Warsaw. Training centers in each location
have been carefully selected based on their experience and expertise
in running professional development programs focused on enquiry-based
science education for secondary life sciences teachers. The 2012
training institute partners are: French National Museum of Natural
History in France, Deutsches Museum in Germany, Centre for the
Advancement of Science and Mathematics Teaching & Learning (CASTeL)
in Ireland and Warsaw Centre for Socio-Educational Innovation and
Training (WCIES) in Poland. Approximately 500 teachers are expected
to participate in face-to-face and online training sessions in 2012.

"Research by the European Commission highlights that in order to
increase student interest and achievement in sciences, teachers
should incorporate enquiry-based methods to their classrooms," said
Marc Durando, executive director, European Schoolnet. "Yet, many
teachers think that the available continuing professional development
opportunities do not meet their needs to implement these techniques.
Therefore, we expect very positive outcomes from this new initiative
and are delighted by this new collaboration with the Amgen
Foundation."

"The Amgen Foundation is committed to strengthening science
education by providing vital professional development opportunities
for science teachers," said Jean Lim Terra, president, Amgen
Foundation. "Amgen, as a science-based company, has the privilege and
the responsibility to support European teachers who are inspiring the
next generation of citizens and scientists. We are especially pleased
to collaborate with European Schoolnet in this effort."

About the Amgen Foundation

Amgen, a biotechnology pioneer, discovers, develops, manufactures
and delivers innovative human therapeutics. Its philanthropic arm,
the Amgen Foundation, seeks to advance science education and provide
teachers with the tools they need to educate and inspire the next
generation of scientists and engineers. To learn more about the Amgen
Foundation, visit the Corporate Giving section of
http://www.amgen.com. Follow us on
http://www.twitter.com/amgenfoundation.

About European Schoolnet

European Schoolnet is a network of 30 Ministries of Education
from across the European member states, leading educational
innovation at European level. As a major international think tank,
European Schoolnet operates key European services in education on
behalf of the European Commission, member Ministries of Education and
industry partners. http://www.europeanschoolnet.org

CONTACT:
Christel Vacelet, +32-(0)485-52-30-60 (European Schoolnet)
Annette Condon, +353-87-284-1951 (EU media, Amgen)
Lisa Slater, +1-805-447-6437 (U.S. media, Amgen)

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ots Originaltext: Amgen
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